


Your Eyes and Mine

by Liskel



Category: Guild Wars 2 (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Spoilers, seriously don't read this unless you're up with current cannon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:54:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25215829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liskel/pseuds/Liskel
Summary: Tiny little snippets of the story seen through my commanders' eyes. These will probably be extremely short little thoughts that crop up as I play. :)(That apostrophe is correct; I will be writing about more than one commander as the muse dictates)First time ever posting anything, so tell me if something's screwed up.
Kudos: 1





	1. Wither

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Through the eyes of Mai Starshade, sylvari ranger, 1328 AE  
> Set after Chapter 16 of Heart of Thorns, Hearts and Minds.

Mai slumps to the floor, her hands shaking.

_Trahearne._

Trahearne is _gone._

She clenches her fists, but the trembling won't stop. 

_You must kill me, Commander._

_Commander._ Not _F_ _riend_. Spoken as Marshal of the Pact, not her companion. The one who she watched grow from a bold scholar to a charismatic young leader, who's gone, gone, _gone-_

 _Damn Mordremoth_. 

* * *

It’s finally quiet. The squeezing, awful pressure of the jungle dragon clawing at her head to _kill rend tear_ is gone. Mai has never wanted to scream so loud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always thought it was odd that Trahearne calls us Commander, at the end. I imagine it's his way of reminding us that our duty is to kill the dragons, at all costs. Even our friends.


	2. Farewell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She was never very close to Eir

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Through the eyes of Mai Starshade, sylvari ranger, 1328 AE  
> Set after Chapter 6 of Heart of Thorns, Prisoners of the Dragon.

They met on a hot day in Lion's Arch three years ago, Mai remembers that much. Trahearne was off in Orr, and Caithe was as nervous as a jackrabbit. It set Mai herself on edge, that Caithe should be so fidgety. This was as far from the Grove as Mai had ever been, and the sheer amount of _people_ around was overwhelming.

Enough time has passed since that day that the memory has mostly faded, but Mai remembers most distinctly the raw edge of rage in Zojja, Logan, and Rytlock. _Hostile_ , she vaguely remembers thinking. _Grieving_ , Caithe had told her later, over drinks. Of Eir, however, she merely remembers a dull look in her eyes, of one who has seen and _witnessed_. The same look she had seen in the eyes of some of the elder sylvari, the ones with strange clothing and limbs that haven't grown back right after loosing them.

Mai brushes off the dirt at her knees and pulls herself to her feet to stare blankly at the growing pool of blood before her. As the months passed, Mai had seen those eyes grow fainter and fainter, until the light was nearly snuffed out by Zojja's spitting anger. When she had received the letter of Eir's venture to the Honor of the Waves, Mai had not been surprised. But Eir made it out. She had sworn to end the Elder Dragons. She chose to _live_. By the end, in the final assault on Zhaitan, Eir's eyes had been glowing, purposeful. A norn of legend once more, a far cry from when they had met. Now, however...

The Pact suffered heavy losses when Mordremoth attacked. Mai's seen the bodies, she's heard the MIA estimates, she's recognized the names on the lists of the missing. For the first time she'd set foot in the jungle, however, she feels a stirring of _fury_. Eir had had _life_ again. A son, even, though Mai doesn't quite understand how parents and children work. 

Eir's body is still warm in the jungle miasma. Her eyes are a dull, glassy emptiness.


	3. Rest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Through the eyes of Mai Starshade, sylvari ranger, 1332 AE  
> Set after Chapter 6 of LW Season 4, War Eternal.

Mai heads back to the Grove after Aurene's ascension. It has been nearly a week since the rushed panic as the Pact, still bearing scars from the Maguuma disaster four years ago, formed ranks against Kralkatorrik, racing against the ticking clock of his manic feasting. Nearly a week since _Aurene had died_ and Mai had been reminded, horribly, of that yawning empty feeling after killing T-Tra- after Mordremoth. Nearly a week since Aurene had absorbed the raging power of her grandfather (and what a strange thought that was) and ascended to a full fledged Elder Dragon in her own right. It's hard to remember sometimes, but Aurene is only three years old. Mai can still vividly remember running for her life, pursued by the _twisted wrong broken_ laughter of not-Faolain, hauling that warm crystal egg away as fast as she could from the vinetooth- _thing_. 

But both elder dragons are dead now. And, after weeks jumping between wherever the newest crisis has risen, Mai misses her home.

* * *

A hush falls over the gatekeepers when Mai stumbles out of the newly established Asura gate between Lion's Arch and Amnoon. The sun burns bright in the sky, still morning, and Mai squints against it. Her Jackal, with her trusty lynx, Rusty, perched on top of him, gives her shoulder a hard nudge, and she moves aside for the next traveler reluctantly. The whispers start up the instant she moves, and she glares at the bolder ones who stare shamelessly. For the longest time, Mai had been the one to watch and observe from the shadows, a trait only honed sharper from her time in the Order of Whispers. Now, however, her fame as the Dragonslayer has long surpassed her and she finds eyes on her no matter where she goes. She finds it humorous, sometimes, when she's drunk enough.

She only sticks around to give the stationed Wardens a sharp nod as she passes though before she heads through the gate to the Grove. The gate-lag from the double jump will be hell on her sleep schedule, but that's been broken since Scarlet let the first shots fire against Lion's Arch. What a _rude_ awakening that morning had been. 

For all that everyone had frozen when she entered Lion's Arch, the Grove explodes into noise when she stepped out of the gate. The Wardens there jump, just a little, but the little sapling off to the side, so clearly newly awakened, near punches her friend to grab his attention and hiss, loud enough that everyone nearby turns with curiosity, that _that's Mai by the pale mother didn't she slay a dragon why is she here_. Mai rolls her eyes and keeps moving. It is full dawn, the sun glorious and bright to the west. After the warm humidity of the jungle and then the dry crackling heat of the desert, the the cool shade of her Mother is refreshing, and she keeps the breath of fresh air in her heart as she moves deeper into the depths. It has been years since she last set foot here, and she nearly makes a wrong turn twice before familiar banners of red and gold greet her eyes. 

Though her rank as Pact Commander has long since superseded her rank as Lightbringer, and her image has become too famed for higher promotion, it still brings a smile to heart when she approaches Ghrian (standing off to the side on watch, though one not familiar with the order would never guess with the way she dress down and moons about cluelessly) and says, "It is quite odd to see so many Whispers agents out in the open. I thought they always wanted be the unseen blade?"

Ghrian, brilliant actor as she always is, does not do anything more than glance over and answer, "I strive to answer the unanswerable, but perhaps you should ask them? The human woman -- really! A human! -- might know."

"Perhaps she will know what cannot be known." Mai smiles and turns away, guard of the camp greeted and assuaged. An agent, one she does not recognize, glances over Mai's shoulder, moves aside at an unseen signal, and gestures into a closed tent. Mai walks in. Inside is as stuffy as she remembers, though the piles of region reports certainly aren't. She nearly salutes out of force of habit before catching herself and saying, "Lightbringer Carrol, it has been a long time."

Mai does not have to check in. All of her reports are sorted and done through the Pact, submitted directly to Marshal Thackeray and passed on to Preceptor Doern. Still, the order likes to know her whereabouts. Right now, however, doing anything more intensive than walking makes her feel more tired than a skritt after a shiny raid, which does not lend itself to dropping a trail like she normally does so some initiates can get some training by tracking a full agent. Dropping in on the local Whispers base for a few minutes to ask about the Unchained situation (significantly better than it used to be) is, by itself, exhausting, but easier. 

She backs out after a minute, task complete. Mai is technically off assignment right now, and she plans to make the most of it. When she walk out, however, she finds a crowd around her Jackal. It's snarling hard. She immediately dashes over, waving away the sapling that had gotten a bit too close for her mount's liking. Rusty is not looking at the gawkers, but his ears are back and he is flexing his claws. "What _is_ that?" one bold syvari demands. Mai frowns at his brutishness and brushes him off. She had been planning on nabbing a bite to eat, but it's clear that the presence of some new unknown creature is pulling to much attention. "Hey!" the rude one from earlier calls, affronted. "Are you a damn night bloom or something? I've never seen a creature like this! Is it safe to be around the Grove?"

"It is fine, so long as you do not go up and _harass_ it," Mai bites back, glancing around. A couple of wardens have drawn near, and most of her fellow agents are looking over in some way. No one has acted, but she reaches up and grabs her Jackal's lower jaw, fingers sliding right around the rock and through the sand. She pulls it's head down, forcing it's attention on her. "Calm," she tells it softly, "We are among friends. If they get too close just howl for me, but do not attack." Mai then looks up at Rusty, who is watching her back. His ears are back up, and she gives him a small chin rub before turning away with a sharp whistle to follow. 

The small crowd follows, though at a cautious distance. It is more than annoying, and even though she shoots a few glares their way it does not deter them. Eventually, Mai growls, at the end of her patience. She wants to sleep and they will not leave her alone, so she pulls out a handful of feathers, making sure to bring them up in her Jackal's line of sight. She throws them down, feeling the tingling sensation that stealth always gives, and instantly dashes away. She darts over the nearby railing and drops down into the gardens, faster than the eye can track. Her Jackal follows in sand form, flowing after her, Rusty held firmly in the sand. It takes a mere second, but Mai smirks when she hears the alarmed calls of those who were planning on following her.

The lower halls of the Grove always have a low buzz of background noise, be it in the form of the animals who run wild there, or the buzzing drone of insects. It quickly drowns out the cacophony above as Mai moves deeper. Her old quarters here have long since been given to a newer sapling, but Trahearne's quarters are still open to her. She had only ever gotten the opportunity to visit once, several years ago running an errand for him, but she still remembers the route. The quarters themselves are large enough to comfortably hold her Jackal and Rusty, and are fairly isolated. Ah, the privileges of being firstborn.

Inside is surprisingly dust-free despite the length of time since anyone last occupied it. Then a lamp blooms without direction farther in and Mai huffs a laugh. _Of course_. Of course Mai's return would be noticed and reported. The sylvari's Pale Mother, welcoming her lost child home. She's probably been tracked by the tree since she entered the Grove. Farther inside reveals a desk, though it has long since been cleaned of the files and notes that once covered it. Trahearne's house is much like Caithe's. It's secluded and closed off, not open like the luminaries are to everyone who might pass through. 

Mai pulls her pack off of her Jackal, and gestures at the door saying, "Don't leave here, but you are welcome to wander." Rusty, familiar with the routine, paces away to scout out the area. Mai herself will check later for bugs, but it is harder to mask scent and Rusty's is sharper than hers. 

It's still technically daylight, but Mai groans and flops into the leaf bed. She has a lot to do; Mawdrey was left in the care of the exalted, who have better access to magic than Mai, and she needs to check on it. There are many, many friends scattered around whom she'd like to catch up with. Plans are being drawn up about which dragon to go after next, and getting the Tyrian nations to accept Aurene, after spending years calling dragons enemies, is going to be a diplomatic and public relations nightmare. Aurene herself is AWOL, and despite what everyone else thinks, she is not her dragon's keeper. Just a champion, though that is a concept Mai herself is not fully comfortable with. It is exhausting, and overwhelming, and Mai just wants to sleep.

Mai will plan what to do later. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mai is tired. So tired. She's been away from the Grove for more time than she's been alive. Sometimes all we wanna do is sleep. Also, does stealth work like that? Probably not, if we're being honest here. Let's call those harpy feathers some kind of magic artifact that have mesmer magic stored in them.
> 
> Trahearne's house in the Grove is never mentioned, so far as I can tell. Do I care? No. Our sylvari character is a relatively unimportant nobody who does not stick around, and it doesn't make sense to keep a house where you never stay. Trehearne, on the other hand, as the first Firstborn, probably has a permanent house. Now that he's dead...well. Seems fitting it would go to a friend. 
> 
> There technically isn't any asura gate between Amnoon and Lion's Arch, but I figured it's been long enough since contact was established that there's probably one by now. Besides, I didn't want to write about a weeks (months? who knows) long ship voyage in which absolutely nothing happened.
> 
> Fun fact: The entire personal story happens in the span of a year. A single year. o.O 
> 
> Sylvari characters aren't even a decade old by Saga episode 3, holy sheep.


	4. Shield

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Through the eyes of many, as well as Cadeyrn, sylvari secondborn.  
> Begins sometime a while after 1302 AE.

In the very first few fledgling years of the sylvari race, the wardens were never more than a necessity. Swarming undead threatened the budding sylvari race, and many found their hearts or Wyld Hunts called to protect the outskirts far beyond the protective thorns of the Pale Tree. Many sylvari, driven to go out and acquire new knowledge, looked down on the wardens, since they often found themselves at odds. For a time, the scholars and the wardens saw each other as necessary nuisances; the scholars would go out and stir up trouble and poke sleeping bears, and the wardens would take out the bears and slaughter the attracted Risen. Never, however, would one find a fully armed warden _inside_ the Grove. It was a quiet, peaceful time. For a while, at least.

* * *

Seven months and ten days after the disastrous mess between the Maguuma centaurs and the sylvari, Cadeyrn returns to the Grove. His return is largely unnoticed, as the newest batch of young have arrived, still wide-eyed and wobbly-legged. At one point in time, so long ago, he could have recognized, named, and greeted every face that he passes. Now, however, the population has grown significantly large enough that not a single pair of eyes turns to him with the slightest recognition. The slights burn and scratch at his pride, but he passes by without comment. _All_ eyes will be on him by the end of this.

The Avatar of the Pale Tree watches the festivities from her lofty, cold perch, alone. Her usual attendants, her precious eldest children, are below dealing with the newest arrivals. Despite his time away, his feet guide him unfailingly to where he needs to go, and it is pathetically easy to get up to the chamber, and though his heart races, no one calls attention to him. _What sylvari would harbor malice to their great Mother?_ Cadeyrn stops a little ways away from the Mother, just watching. It strikes him, as he watches, the great irony that she would see him only now.

"You are back." So she knows he is here.

"I am," he replies. It is true enough, though he does not plan to stay long. "I have a new place now. The tablet _shackles_ us, Mother. We are pushovers. Wilting, delicate flowers that get stepped all over. Many of us agree. _Listen_ to us."

"No. You-" 

Cadeyrn doesn't wait for the Mother to finish her- its words. His dagger, razor sharp and well concealed, slides smoothly into the Avatar's back. Almost instantly, a shriek of pain rings out. Sylvari all over cry out, as the Dream echoes the Pale Mother's agony. It brings a smile to Cadeyrn's lips. A _warm_ welcome indeed, for the new saplings. "Then you are not my Mother. Your Dream is my Nightmare."

Though it nearly pains him to drag his eyes away from the collapsed figure in front of him, he turns away. A strange sense of giddiness fills his heart and he bursts into quiet, manic giggles. So it begins.

Cadeyrn is long gone by the end of the night.

* * *

From that day forward, a warden always remains by the Avatar of the Pale Mother's side. As time goes on, the sight becomes less and less unusual. The Nightshade Garden secludes itself, and entraps its first victims, a pair of petty thieves. When the first Rata Sumans arrive, with great tools to build a gate to Lions Arch as a gesture of goodwill to a new alliance, they are guarded day and night by five wardens, armed to the teeth. A breakthrough in a weaker section of bark allows a handful of risen in, and four saplings are killed before there is a proper response. Regular patrols are set up and walk the outskirts daily, and a few are stationed strategically around the inner city.

For a time, it works. For a while, at least. Then a dragon attacks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I came up with this while thinking about the Soundless. What on earth would make someone go nope and abandon everything including the built in mental support Sylvari get? The story I came up with involved a baby sapling taking one look at the Nightmare and immediately thinking hell no. Then I looked into it and apparently they were founded (or at least use techniques made by) a firstborn, and they had two established bases that were wiped out by Nightmare Court “recruiters”. Both imply that the Soundless existed before the Court, but I suppose nothing says it can’t be the other way.


End file.
